On the authority of Abu Hurairah who said: The Messenger of Allah (upon whom be Allah’s blessings and peace) said, “Allah the Almighty has said, ‘Whoever has mutual animosity with a friend (wali) of Mine, I declare war upon him. My servant does not draw near to Me with anything more beloved to Me than the religious duties that I have imposed upon him; and My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works such that I love him. And when I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes, and his leg with which he walks. Were he to ask of Me, I would surely give him; and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it.’ “

Recorded by Al Bukhari

The discussion of Hadith #38 began in last quarter, 2012 Winter, and you can read the notes of the previous quarter to catch up on what was discussed so far.

2012-03-26 Class Notes

Goal is to understand the hadith and what we can derive from the hadith. This hadith from the collection of Nawawi has very expansive meaning to it and it has some concentrated aspects, such as how to become beloved to Allah swt and what would happen when you become specially beloved to Allah swt.

In the first part of the hadith it says, whoever has mutual animosity with a wali, Allah swt declares war upon him.

There is something peculiar about the Arabic and the way the words of ALlah swt are phrased. THe way “man ‘ada li waliyan” or devoted servant of mine is stated is unique, usually you would say “waliyan li”. THe words are transposed and there is a technical term for it and it is called “fronting”. THis is done for a specific purpose.

If you would have stated it normally, then it would have read, whoever opposes a servant of mine, but by transposing it, it emphasises that the enmity is because of the servants devotion to Allah. So the reason for enmity is because of devotion to Allah and that is the sole reason for this enmity.

It shows us that we should have certain attitude towards a devoted servant of Allah swt. When it comes auliya, we have some obligation towards them. Under no circumstances should we oppose them because of their devotion to Allah swt, if we oppose them because of this devotion, then Allah will declare war upon us. In reality, we should love them for this devotion of Allah, and for the sake of Allah swt. This proper attitude should be a result and flow from having the proper love for Allah swt. If someone loves ALlah swt above and beyond anything else, then as a consequence, he would love devoted servants of Allah swt. This is a natural consequence.

As an analogy, the relationship between husband and wife, if the husband loves his wife his lot, and he knows his wife loves many things and it brings joy to her, such as maybe flowers. The husband might never love flowers, but he knows it is beloved to his wife, and he will make sure that he brings flowers and if somebody brings flowers to his house, he loves them for it. So he loves flowers because his beloved loves them.

One topic is to determine the signs that we have love for Allah swt, we should study this topic on our own. We will not discuss it.

Does Allah swt love?We all agree that Allah swt loves. This question of whether Allah swt loves is related to aqeedah or matters of belief. There are many topics that are discussed that are secondary to the topic of imaan. However there are many topics that are central to our imaan. If you don’t understand them or study them, then it will have a dangerous effect on our imaan.

There are at least five extreme opinions on this topic.

#1 Allah swt’s love is unconditional

How many are familiar with Ruquaiyyah Waris Maqsood, she is a christian convert to Islam and she has written a number of books. One of her books is titled, the problem of evil.

One of the Christian and Jewish beliefs is that if Allah does anything to them, it will not be too much, they believe that hellfire would only touch them for a few days, the days when they worshipped the calf during the time of Musa. Allah swt refers to this in a verse Surah Maida verse 18, where he quotes them and then he says why does Allah swt punish you for your sins, and you are humans.... and he punishes whom he wills and he rewards whom he wills.

Unfortunately this incorrect attitude is also present in Muslims. They believe that they are beloved of Allah swt and no harm will come on them.

Rukiya says that ... God’s love does not cease and he loves without limits..... and she has some more passages to indicate that Allah’s swt love is not conditional, .....I might have got the quotes wrong ....

In many places, you can find in the Quran, Allah does not like ungrateful people and people who deny Allah swt, he hates knowledgeable people who deny Allah swt.

So this incorrect understanding of the author might be because of incorrect Christian beliefs. It is very important to have the proper understanding of Allah swt.

It is arrogant of human beings to believe that Allah’s love is not conditional. We know that Allah loves and Allah hates. We cannot take Allah’s love for granted. We should strive to increase our love to Allah swt and in return hope for his love.

#2 Allah swt does not love

A much more common extreme and much more dangerous view is that Allah swt does not love. This is the view of Asharis, ..... They reject that attribute completely. The Asharis and other groups is that they cannot comprehend what Allah can do, and if they cannot comprehend it, then they reject it. They think that love is related to hawa or desires. They fail to understand that Allah swt has these attributes that are deserving of him, otherwise you would have to reject all of the attributes.

The Jahimites rejected all of Allah’s attributes. They are more consistent.

We have knowledge, does that mean that we should reject this attribute from Allah swt. There are many attributes that are common with Allah swt.

Baydawi in his tafseer says this love of Allah swt is simply Allah swt bestowing guidance and blessings in this life and a reward in the hereafter. Therefore they say that Allah does not love and reject it as an attribute of Allah swt.

The ahl sunnah affirm that love is an attribute of Allah.

This love is separate from his justice and guidance. One ramification of his love is that he bestows guidance. Allah swt has revealed the book in order for us to know Allah swt. We cannot know Allah without his revelation. And if this did not have meaning, then there would be no need to state them in the revelation.

The only way to Allah is through His Revelation. The ahl sunnah affirm what Allah has identified as His attributes.

If you strip of reduce Allah swt of these attributes, then you are taking away from his beauty and his magnificence, and you are lessening the ilah. This is one of the things that the Muslim ummah have suffered from and Shaikh Jamaal is very passionate about it. The Jahimites end up praying to nothingness because they have stripped out all of the attributes of Allah swt.

This is one of the reasons why Islam has become superficial for many Muslims.

If someone believes that if he loves Allah swt and can get his love in return, then that individual will sacrifice a lot and strive to earn it. If you have just rewards and punishments without love, then it becomes a very cold transaction. And we lose something very important.

Conclusion is that Allah swt does love and we can prove that throughout the Quran. In surah Maida v.54, Allah swt says, Allah swt will bring another people who will love him and he will love them.....

To down play something that we see in the Quran is amazing. Then he goes thru a list of ayahs that refer to the love Allah.

Allah loves the patient people, those who repent, those who seek to purify, those who are just, those who strive, those who fight for his sake, .... shaikh enumerated many verses.

It is amazing that somebody would deny it and work around these verses. They have to perform tricks of taweel to deny the attribute of love.

They make mercy a generic concept. The attribute of Rahmah is stripped away too.

Love usually goes with mercy. If you are merciful then you will love but not always, you could be merciful without loving somebody.

We know that there is nothing similar to anything similar to Allah swt, there are two levels of indirection here. We cannot understand the exact nature of Allah swt, but we can grasp it.

What should be our obligation towards those things that Allah loves?One of the keys is our love for Allah swt. This is part of our Deen. It is difficult to produce love out of nothing. The love will flow out of our knowledge of Allah.

Once we know what Allah loves, what does it mean?It is good for us, it is better for us, it is pure for us. It will bring us close to Him.

Once we know that He is Aleem etc. we know that He loves us for a reason.It requires something of your imaan. If you have weak imaan you may not be able to fulfill some of the requirements of that love.

Hadith from Sahih Bukhari:Allah swt that there are three qualities that if someone has them he has tasted the sweetness of imaan:1. He loves Allah swt and His messenger more than anything else2. He loves an individual just for the sake of Allah3. He hates to return to kufr in the same way he hates to be cast into fire.

In another hadith, Allah swt describes it as a strongest bond of imaan or islam. The strongest bond of faith is having loyalty for the sake of Allah swt, opposing people for the sake of Allah swt, loving for the sake of Allah swt, hating for the sake of Allah swt.

So these are important qualities of imaan. And the reward for them is similar in nature to the deed that you have performed. So if you love for the sake of Allah, the reward would be that Allah swt would love you for it.

In another hadith, recorded in Musnad Ahmad .....

In Sahih Muslim, prophet described one individual who went to visit somebody else in another city, the angel came to him and asked him, he said that I plan on visiting one of my brothers in this city, the angel asked did he do something good for you that you are repaying it, he said no, it is just for the sake of Allah swt. And angel said that I am coming from Allah swt to you to tell you that Allah had loved you in the same way that you have loved that individual for the sake of Allah swt.

There are many hadith, in which prophet describes the rewards for this love for the sake of Allah swt.

In another hadith, prophet is describing what ALlah swt would say on the day of judgement, he will call out those who love each other for the sake of ALlah swt and that he would shade them on the day when there is no shade.

Another hadith, prophet said, Allah has said that those who love one another for sake of Allah swt, they would have minbars of light which the martyrs would ...... be happy to have????

Sahih Ibn Hibban: Prophet said, ALlah has servants who are not messengers but they will have rewards that the messengers and martyrs would love to have, and this is because they loved for the sake of ALlah swt and the reward is light minbars and .... a description of this light ........

Another hadith from Abu Dawud, Prophet said, whoever loves for sakes of Allah, hates for sake of Allah, gives for the sake of Allah, forgets for the sake of Allah swt has completed his imaan.

2012-04-03 Class Notes

There are some very important principles described in this hadith.

We are discussing the part .... wherein Allah swt has “fronted” the word li which means that if anyone opposes somebody because of the fact that he is a servant of Allah (SWT), Allah states that this type of behaviour is not permissible.

Instead of having hatred and animosity for the one who serves Allah (SWT) it is obligatory for us to love that individual for the sake of Allah (SWT). This should flow from our Emaan. If we oppose someone for being dedicated to Allah (SWT), then we should expect the wrath of Allah (SWT). Including war from Allah (SWT).

Who is a Wali?

This is an important question to ask and know who is a wali of Allah swt. What does the word “wali” mean, who is an awliya of Allah swt?

This is a commonly used word and unfortunately the conception of who is wali has developed into many meanings and they may not be consistent with what Allah (SWT) is speaking here. In some parts of the world, some people think it is related with some kind of special dhikr or chant. In some places those who are described awliya are involved in telling the future or somebody who helps you find lost goods. Many people claim to have performed miracles kiraamat and they say that these are signs of awliyaa.

Incorrect claims about being awliyaa

We have to understand who is a wali and what is meant by this word wali in this hadith? If we misidentify it then it is very dangerous for many reasons:

#1 Sufi groups give such conditions for being awliya that you think it is not attainable at all.

To be a wali of Allah (SWT) you have to do this and this, and the result will not be very encouraging for you to become one of the awliyaa of Allah (SWT). The reality may very much be the opposite. Maybe those around you are from the Awliyaa of Allah (SWT). And they are definitely deserving that you not dislike them. They may be the very simple people you see coming to the mosque, or doing a simple business. Perhaps you yourself are one of them.

If you think of the awliyaa of a Allah (SWT) as that special class of Muslims. Then you may not realize that those around you are awliyaa as well. It is of extreme importance that you understand who the walis of Allah are.

#2 You cannot say anything about “awliyaa” and correct them

In those societies in which the misconceptions of awliyaa are very strong, are involved in things that are very wrong, e.g. those who are fortune tellers or know the unseen, they are doing things that are definitely wrong.

If you try to speak about them and try to do anything about them about the false claim they are making then you are in trouble. if you do correct them than you will be accused of doing about which Allah[swt] warns.

Why is it important to identify the awliyaa?

It is only the awlyaa of Allah (SWT) who will enter Jannah and for this reason, it is important that we know who are the awaliyaa of Allah[swt],we need to know who are the awliyaa of Allah[swt] so that we can work to be .,,, We need to Identify and understand what is awliyaa or wali,

What is the linguistic meaning of Wali?

In the shariah when we have technical terms they go back to some Arabic root words. For example, the word Zakaat currently means giving of wealth. But before Islam, it meant growth. What it means here is that your are growing spiritually. When you are paying zakat you are fulfilling obligation of zakah and definitely Allah[swt] will increase your wealth.

The word ولى has the meaning of closeness -- هذا يلي هذا -- means this follows this -- it is a real closeness they are nothing else in between these two things and that closeness develops into the idea of love and loyalty,especially when humans are close it is expected that they have love and loyaltyا for each other means this is ver

There are many words in the Qur’an that also come from this same root. It has this meaning of love and closeness and loyalty. It means protector, helper and supporter, guardian, ally. E.g. In Surah Raad Allah (SWT) say:

For each one are successive [angels] before and behind him who protect him by the decree of Allah . Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves. And when Allah intends for a people ill, there is no repelling it. And there is not for them besides Him any patron.

Other than Allah (SWT) there is no protector. Here Allah (SWT) is the wali of the believers, he is their protector and supporter.

Sometimes when you relationship between two things then it means or ..... same word is used for both ends of the relationship. Wali is used in this way sometimes, one who receives protection and one who gives protection.

Walaya captures the idea of closeness. At the foundation of what the word wali means, it comes from the idea of love and closeness. And walaya also contains that meaning as well as love. So a believer should have walaya, closeness and loyalty to ALlah swt.

As ibn Taymiyyah says the root meaning is love and closeness. Some also say that wali has two short meanings, one thing comes right after the other, there is no separateness, which means that the wali follows one act of obedience with another act of obedience.

When you study this topic in aqeedah and tazkeeyah, you will find this word defined there, but they add conditions to the definition which is not found in the Quran or Sunnah.

One common definition is one who knows Allah, he knows the attributes of ALlah and he is continually in the act of obedience and he remains away from the acts of disobedience, and he shuns from any kinds of pleasures and even permissible desires

So you can see that they have made the definition more difficult for us to attain and out of reach.

Quran defines who is a wali. ANd you can find it in Surah Yunus verse 62-63

Unquestionably, [for] the allies of Allah there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve

Those who believed and were fearing Allah

For them are good tidings in the worldly life and in the Hereafter. No change is there in the words of Allah . That is what is the great attainment.

Those who believe and have taqwa, this is the definition that Allah swt has given us is very simple. Those who have imaan and taqwa. It is referring to the theory and practice. So they have a correct understanding of imaan and they practice it correctly. When you separate it in this way, you are highlighting the fact that they have correct understanding of it and also practicing it properly.

This should be sufficient for us since it comes from Allah swt. Because if you try to improve upon something that Allah swt has given us, you will not be able to do it. And chances are you will pollute it and include something that should not be there or exclude something that should be there.

As you can see in the common definition as described earlier, they have added something which is staying away from permissible desires you have now distorted the definition. Is there sin involved in something that is permissible, of course not. So you have now changed the definition of wali and this is a great mistake. You have excluded people who should have been included.

Those who commit shirk, are they awliyaa? No. Why not? Because the definition from Allah swt says so that they have to believe.

What about believers who commit sins? Can you commit sin and still be from the muttaqeen? Answer: Yes. The common definition that says the awliya has to remain away from sins is not proper either.

Allah swt says in Surah Faatir verse 32

Sahih International

Then we caused to inherit the Book those We have chosen of Our servants; and among them is he who wrongs himself, and among them is he who is moderate, and among them is he who is foremost in good deeds by permission of Allah . That [inheritance] is what is the great bounty.

Here Allah (SWT) describes three types of people, those who wrong themselves, those who are in between or in the middle, and those who outstrip others in good deeds.

Ibn Abbas said those servants who inherited the book (the revelation) are the ummah of the prophet (saws), those who wrong themselves they have to seek forgiveness, those who are in the middle will face a light judgement. And the ones who are foremost in good deeds are the ones who will enter Jannah without any reckoning.

Some reports say that those who wrong themselves are disbelievers, however the stronger opinion is that these three groups are from the believers.

Ibn Katheer describes the three groups and says, those who that those who wrong themselves are those who wrong themselves are negligent in some of the obligatory duties and perform some forbidden acts, those who are moderate are those who perform obligatory duties and abstain from prohibited acts, yet they do not perform beyond all of the recommended acts and perform some makrooh acts, and the final group is ones who perform obligatory duties and on top of that do the recommended acts.

This description of believers as being belonging to different groups and ranks can be seen in different verses such as in Surah Waaqi’ah verse 7-14

And you become [of] three kinds:

Then the companions of the right - what are the companions of the right?

And the companions of the left - what are the companions of the left?

And the forerunners, the forerunners -

Those are the ones brought near [to Allah ]

In the Gardens of Pleasure,

A [large] company of the former peoples

And a few of the later peoples,

Similarly in Surah Waqiya 88 - 91

On the day of judgement and in this world, we can see that we are talking about Muslims, which shows that not all Muslims are at the same rank. As such they will be treated differently by Allah swt.

Two extreme beliefs about ImaanImaan is not something that is fixed, it increases and decreases. And one person’s imaan can be stronger than another person’s imaan. Imaan is taking the belief and living by the ramifications of it. And that is the reason why there is such a wide distinction between believers.

Sins do not affect their Imaan - Murji’ah beliefSome people mistakenly believe that their imaan is the same as the imaan of Abu Baqr and it remains constant and fixed. So if Imaan is just one level and it’s just about belief, what happens if I commit a big sin? One of two things can happen. Either it’s fixed and my Iman stays unchanged (unfortunately this is the belief of the majority of Muslims today -- a Muslim is a Muslim even if he commits big sins. Even if he’s committing acts of shirk). If that is the case, then you’re not going to be very worried about committing sins. THey believe that committing sins does not affect their imaan. This is the belief of the murji’ah -- one of the sects of Islam. This philosophy still exists today.

Any big sin takes you out of Imaan - Mu’tazilah beliefThe other extreme is to believe that if you commit a big sin then you are no longer Muslim. This is the belief of the Khawarij and the Mu’tazliah. And if you do commit a major sin, then you will be in hell forever. And we see that in the Muslim ummah.

Correct understanding of various levels of ImaanBut what we see from the Qur’an and hadith is that believers are at different levels. Three categories:

- Those outstripping others and very pleasing to Allah (SWT) and Allah (SWT) will enter them into Jannah without any reckoning whatsoever.

- This group are staying away from Haram, and they will face a very light reckoning and those two groups will enter into Jannah without any punishment whatsoever.

- The third group is those who wrong themselves. Those are the ones that the Prophet (SAWS) will make shafa’ah for. The Prophet (SAWS) said that his shafa’ah is reserved for those who committed big sins. Some of the believers will end up in hell for some time. Then Allah (SWT) will rescue them, purify them and enter them into Jannah.

Conclusion: The awliyaa of Allah are not at one level. The important point is that we can be from the awliyaa of Allah (SWT) even with the weaknesses we have, especially if we continue with a good intention and we continue to try to do good and we seek repentance from Allah (SWT).

At the same time, this should give us something to aspire to be amongst those who do good deeds and outstrip the others in good deeds. You don’t have to belong to a particular class -- could be a teacher, engineer, businessman and you could still be among the group of people who will enter Jannah above and before the people entering Jannah. Among the awliyaa there is another group -- the people of knowledge who put their knowledge into practice. One of the earliest scholars said that if they are not awliyaa then there’s no-one who is a wali.

Allah swt says in Quran:

O you who have believed, when you are told, "Space yourselves" in assemblies, then make space; Allah will make space for you. And when you are told, "Arise," then arise; Allah will raise those who have believed among you and those who were given knowledge, by degrees. And Allah is Acquainted with what you do.

Possessing Proper Knowledge is an important attribute of an Awliyaa

People of knowledge are distinguished by their acts of teaching, learning, dawah, following in the footsteps of the prophet and preventing deviation.

Prophet said that the scholars are the heirs of the prophet. Prophets do not leave behind wealth but they leave behind knowledge.

Ibn Taymiyaah says ... Somebody who does not have knowledge, it is inconceivable that that person would be from the awliyaa. And one who has knowledge and does not act upon it will also be not from awliyaa. And to be truly from the awliyaa you have to know what Allah swt wants from you and you must put that knowledge into action.

Q: To what group does a hypocrite belong?A: A pure hypocrite is one who shows that he has imaan and he truly does not believe in Imaan, so he is a kaafir. And he does not belong to any of the three groups that we discussed. But somebody could be a believer and he could have a branch of jahiliyaah or hypocrisy but he is still within in the fold of Imaan.

2012-04-10 Class Notes

Last time we answered one question which is who is a wali of Allah and who is an awliyaa. Knowing who is a wali is central to understanding this hadith. And also the word wali and awliyaa has been greatly abused and distorted and we have to know and understand this word properly. We do not want Allah swt to declare war upon us and knowing who is awliyaa we would then be careful in dealing with them.

In Sufism there are theories about awliyaa. They have elevated the idea of who is a wali, almost to a status of demigod and some people make prayer to them and ask them for help. One of their famous poems states that the position of a prophet and barzaq is above the messengers but below the wali. They believe that Prophets receive their guidance from the the lamp of wilaayah.

Khatm ul awliyaa -- the final walis -- they seem to have had five of them. But the khatim al awliyaa is supposed to have special powers.

One of their miracles was to walk through fire and ibn Taymiyaah figured out how they did it, he found out that they put oil on their hands and feet to repel the fire. So he challenged them and said let us wash our hands and feet and then walk through fire.

.... we have to recognize this is not what Allah swt is seeking from us. ... said, You should be seeking istiqaamah and not seeking karaamah because your nafs is seeking karaamah, but your lord is seeking istiqaamah.

Who can become an awliyaa?Awliyaa is a status that is available to true believers and it is within our grasp and it is important to know that the awliyaa are also from us. We should recognize that the believers around us are also from the awliyaa and because they are from awliyaa they have special right upon us. And we have to be careful with respect to how we behave with the awliyaa.

Different ranks of awliyaaThe best among the awliyaa are the messengers and the prophets. It goes without saying that the prophets and messengers are the best and virtuous and there is no one better than them or closer to Allah swt than them. ANd after Prophet Muhammad, the best are his companions, in particular Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali. And Allah swt is pleased with them and they are pleased with him.

Because of their position and how Allah swt has described them and their position, having enmity of the sahabah is a grave matter. Prophet has reminded us not to revile them or curse them, he said that if you spend an amount equal to Mount Uhud you would not compare to a handful done by them. Some scholars say that reviling them is equivalent to kufr. Somebody says that they are cowardly or stingy it is not good, but not the same level as kufr.

Different groups throughout history trying to attack the Sahabah. The only relationship they have with the Prophet (SAWS) is through the Sahabah, so if they want to attack the Qur’an, they attack the Sahabah. And similarly for attacking the Sunnah. But they are doing this not because of the Sahabah, but because of what they want to do to the deen.

After the sahaba come the rest of the believers, one who has imaan and taqwa. Both Iman and Taqwa in the reality must be something internal.

What are the signs of a believer?We have to judge them according to their outward signs, because we cannot peek into their hearts. If they are showing their attachment to Islam and showing their intent to obey Allah swt and they are not just at a minimum level, then we should treat them to be an awliyaa of Allah swt.

If what we see from them is that they are dedicated to Allah swt, it does not mean that they do not commit sins or make mistakes, but there is no sign that they are rejecting the Quran and Sunnah, they are taking the signs and acting upon them.

A pure hypocrite might try to show all of the above, but we cannot look into their heart.

For example those who reject Islam, we treat them as kuffar -- because their outward signs are as non-Muslims. Some of them might even be insulted when we say that they are Muslim (e.g. Barack Obama).

Alhamdulillah we know people of this nature and we have to be careful how we deal with them and they have rights upon us.

Shaikh mentioned his khutbah which he delivered on April 6 which he says should be added as a footnote to this lecture. Wish some of his students who attended the khutbah would do so.

What does “enmity” or “opposing” explicitly mean?

Let’s discuss what the term “enmity” doesn’t mean. Suppose someone is from the believers and has taqwa and you have a dispute. Does that mean that if you argue with him, you are opening yourself up to warfare from Allah (SWT)?

We have evidence of the sahabah disputing, e.g. Abu Bakr and Umar, Ali and Abu Bakr, etc. This is obviously not included within opposing -- it doesn’t mean they have to give in or turn the other cheek. But they should not allow this argument to become between them in the imaani sense. Perhaps you may even feel wronged, but you move on.

It might even affect your natural love, but it should not affect your religious love. He is still your brother in deen and one of the awliyaa of Allah (SWT).

In reality however, it comes back to having the proper understanding of the deen and imaan. In reality most individuals will have a combination of wilaaya (love) and muadaaah (dislike) for them. Because Imaan is not a fixed thing amongst ahl us sunnah wal jama’ah.

Believers can have many different characteristics

An individual could be a believer and have imaan but that does not mean he does not have traces of Jaahiliyyah, nifaaq, even traces of kufr within him. E.g. the hadith about characteristics of nifaaq.

Hadith: There are four characteristics and if an individual has them, then he is a pure hypocrite, and if he has one of them, he has a characteristic of hypocrisy until he leaves it.

Hadith: Abu Dharr made a racist statement and he said: “You are an individual who has some aspect of Jaahiliyyah in you.”

He also said there are some aspects that will remain in my ummah from the time of Jaahiliyyah.

Hadith: the story of the alcoholic and who was punished repeatedly, the prophet said that he still loved Allah swt.

Ibn Taymiyaah said that in one individual you could find combined disobedience and obedience, love and hatred, sunnah and desire (following prohibitions)..... and he is deserving of love and sharr...... one individual is deserving of both, honor and being treated dishonorably. For example a poor thief might be deserving for his hand to be chopped off but he is also deserving of our love and help. And he mentioned this to highlight the difference with respect to Mutazilah, who said that if you commit big sins, you are out of the fold of Imaan.

Allah (SWT) describing the muttaqoon on the day of Judgement says: “The one that comes with truth and they who believed in it, those are the muttaqoon -- those are the people of taqwa and they will have what they desire.” And then Allah (SWT) says: Allah will remove from them the worst of what they did and with the best of their deeds.

Similarly amongst the Muslims there are people that you rarely see something bad from them and they are deserving of your complete loyalty and you should not oppose them in any way. And there is no aspect according to his deen that you should despise him.

They are mixing good with bad, they might have aspect of being awliyaa because they have some imaan and some taqwa, but that level is very weak. So he is deserving both, like because of his imaan and also dislike for the bad that he is doing. And in fact opposing him for his bad does not violate the hadith that we are discussing. This feeling of opposition to them because of their acts, is not only a violation of this hadeeth, but it is something that is needed ....

What type of opposition is excluded from this Hadith.

1. Personal disputes and issues unrelated to your love for them for the deen.

2. Level of dislike for them based on their disobedience to Allah (SWT).

You should not think that maybe he is from the awlyaa of Allah, so I shouldn’t hate him for this. The level of your love should be based on closeness to the path of Allah (SWT). E.g. obviously Allah doesn’t love the drinking of alcohol, but perhaps that will be countered by the many good deeds that person has done.

Similarly there are some believers that will be sent to the hellfire to be purified of their sins. And we want to love for the sake of Allah (SWT) -- we can not overlook clear acts of obedience. Asking for mercy/guidance for an invidiual is a good deed in and of itself. E.g. that Allah guide Umar. Doesn’t violate the idea of hating for the sake of Allah (SWT). You still go to the individual and at the very least make du’a for the individual.

When should wali of Allah swt should have enmity with somebody else?

A wali would have enmity with somebody for the sake of Allah swt, because he loves and hates for the sake of Allah swt.

Shawkani says this type of religious enmity exists vis-a-vis one who is a innovator in matters of religion and one who follows the straight path , vis-a-vis scholar and the ignorant person, vis-a-vis ahl us sunnah and ahl ul bida’a, vis-a-vis kafir and mumin ....... he listed many opposing groups based on their opposing characteristics.......

Between Ahl us Sunnah and the Ahl ul Bid’a there will be disagreements. Each one thinks they are on the truth and there will be animosity. The animosity exists because the difference.

Generally, for example, the faasiqeen don’t like the awliyaa of Allah (SWT). They make the faasiqeen look bad. so they do not like those who want to purify society. Because the awliya stand up for the deen, they are hated by the fasiqeen. And that is the cause of their enmity.

Anyone who hates the deen of Allah (SWT) is going to hate the people who stand for the deen.

What about the case of enmity of the scholar and the ignorant person?

In general, what do the masses base their deen on? On what they grew up with. The ignorant people don’t know the difference between what they grew up with and Islam. And so when scholars try to correct the errors people grew up with, they are not going to like the scholars. They are going to accuse the scholars of doing it out of arrogance, power etc.

Ignorant people can also be very arrogant -- so they refuse to listen to anyone who tells them that anything they are doing is wrong. In some parts of the Arab world it is very rude to say “may Allah guide you’, because the ignorant person says what do you mean, am I a kafir?

This happens a lot within a mosque. Many people oppose a person who is trying to do the correct thing, just out of their hawa. This is not a minor issue at all. They are opposing this individual because of what he is doing for the sake of Allah swt. They know that what he is doing is right but they do not want to change and hence oppose him.

We should do our best that we do not fall into the people described in the hadith and we have to make sure we do not oppose them who are working for the sake of Allah swt.

If it clearly goes against the Shari’ah we oppose them. In our history there have been many cases where Muslims have made alliances with non-Muslims against Muslims. They don’t care that the non-Muslim allies also hate Muslims, e.g. During the fight in crusades, Spain, etc they would oppose believers because they are believers.

The results of these actions is a declaration of war from Allah (SWT).

2012-04-17 Class Notes

Last time we were discussing the aspect of mutual animosity with the awliya of Allah swt. We did not discuss one particular form of animosity. One last form of animosity to consider, before moving away from this topic.

Enmity between Muslims due to difference of opinions in matters of FiqhIt is a little unusual, but it is a way that some people oppose the awliyaa of Allah (SWT). This is the situation where people develop enmity to other Muslims due to fiqh differences of opinion.

Many times it happens amongst youth. Or someone learns something from the Sunnah; so once he has learned this, he is keen on making sure that he does it and then also keen to make sure everybody else does it. To the point that if people don’t listen to it, he will get angry. If someone is opposing the Sunnah of the Prophet (SAWS) that is not good, but the enmity he creates between himself and others may not be justified.

Sometimes a little bit of a knowledge can be more harmful than no knowledge at all. In some cases, some of the people who make corrections based on moving finger during tashahud or not etc, it has been the Shaikh’s experience that they are people who do not have a great deal of knowledge. Shaikh Jamaal has been around many scholars, and you don’t see them when they see someone doing something different (even the ones with in depth knowledge) you don’t see them correcting others.

Muslims should strive to have unity amongst themselvesObviously the goal for us as Muslims is to have unity and not division (verse about hanging firm to the rope of Allah). There is a difference between al khilaaf and ikhtilaaf. Khilaaf is like division and ikhtilaaf is having difference of opinion. Throughout our history, scholars said that having ikhtilaaf is natural, Allah swt has created us differently and we have different databases upon which we form our views.

Differences of opinion is not unnatural between Muslims and even among the SahabaThe problem/issue is how to deal with situations where there is a difference of opinion. Allah (SWT) describes the Sahabah as “allaffa bayna quloobihim.” Allah says “If you had spent what is in the Earth to bring their hearts together you would not be able to bring them together.” Does this mean that the sahabah did not differ in opinion amongst each other?

Ibn Taymiyyah wrote we have been ordered to ..... and we have been prohibited to have divisions .... and he said that companions used to debate each other and also consult each other. And they might even differ on issues related to Aqeedah. But at the same time, all along their hearts were united and they were brethren in the Deen.

According to Ibn Al Qayyim, Ibn Mas’ud and Umar B Khattab differed on over 100 issues of fiqh, Shaikh has not been able to determine exactly what those 100 issues were. But how did they treat one another. They understood where the differences came from. Even when the fitna took place, they understood it was for haq or truth. And the issue was so important, that they were obligated to fight. And the issue was so grave that they were on different sides and fought. But most of the sahaba stayed away and did not fight.

Even when they fought,they would continue to pray together during the night, and they would marry each other’s daughters, etc. Even when fighting took place, they did not allow that difference of opinion to enter into their hearts.

Al-Hasan Al-Basri says that the best of people differ in a way that does not harm them. E.g. Imam Ahmad and Ali ibn Al-Madeeni are colleagues and both taught Bukhari. They were one time in the mosque and argued vehemently, and it was time for Ali to leave and it was Imam Ahmad who prepared his departure and camel.

Another example, Sh Jaafar and Sh Jamaal were on the same panel and disagreed vehemently on a topic, but afterwards had a great dinner together.

On many issues it is understandable that there is a difference on an issue, but we raise it to the level where it causes enmity.

For example, If an Imam of a particular masjid does not follow some Sunnah, some people don’t go and advise the Imam of the Masjid, but they go and attack Imam Abu Hanifa or Imam Malik and say bad things about them. To say these things about them, whom we know are such elevated state because of their knowledge, it is not a good act to do.

Ibn Taymiyyah has a booklet called, رفع الملام عن الأئمة الأعلام “Removing any blame from the leading Imams”, and in this booklet he says that none of the accepted scholars among the ummah went against one another intentionally on matters of ....... They all agreed with a definitive agreement that it is obligatory to follow the prophet. And they all agreed, that for anybody other than the Prophet (SAWS), we can follow some of their statements and not follow some of their statements. And then he says, that if anyone were to follow their statements when there is a stronger statement from the prophet, then there was a reason for why they did not follow the statement of the Prophet.

Footnote: Shaikh Jamaal Zarabozo has translated the booklet in English. Not sure if it has been published yet, but the content has been sent to the printer.

Different types of difference of opinionsWhen you look at the differences of opinions, you can classify them as follows:

1. ikhtilaaf al ....... It is not really a difference, but the scholars used different words for the same concept.

For example, some sahaba will say siraatul mustakeem is Sunnah and some say it is the Quran and/or Islam. Some people when they look at it, they don’t realize that they are both referring to the same concept.

2. Scholars discuss permissible difference of opinions and also blameworthy differences of opinion.

What are permissible differences of opinions? Human beings differ in their level of intelligence or the level of knowledge that they have access to.

Reasons for differences of opinions amongst scholars

If you look at what causes differences opinion, there are many reasons. Here are a few: [Sheikh shows like 5 or 6 sheets of paper] -- there are many. And these lead to permissible differences of opinion. Like Ibn Taymiyyah says, suppose a scholar does not use a hadith in his opinion. Three main categories that could result in permissible differences of opinions:

Reason #1: Scholar believes Prophet (SAWS) did not make statement.

For example during the time of the Imams, one hadith may have reached Imam Maalik in a way that is very good. If Imaam Maalik is convinced of its authenticity, he’ll give a fatwa based on it. But now Abu Hanifah has the exact same hadith, but his own narration is not as strong and he believes it to be inauthentic. So he will not feel obliged to follow the hadith. So when he expresses an opinion, he may make a statement that contradicts this hadith, based on the best of his knowledge.

Is he sinful for what he has done? No. Indeed he will be rewarded. He will be rewarded for his efforts even if he came to the wrong conclusion.

Can you say such and such Imam knew the hadith and went against it, can you really say that? Let us say that you have a statement of the Imam which says that he would not even accept that hadith. So he would appear (externally) to be rejecting the Sunnah.

Can still happen to this day. Some scholar investigates a hadith, and concludes that the hadith is sound, while another think it is weak.

Not only is Abu Hanifa is not committing a sin, but he is rewarded for following his opinion. Now if we determine that the hadith is authentic, we can find the statement of all of the four Imams, which states that if you find an authentic hadith, then you should follow it. That may be true, but in general the followers are slow to apply this principle.

A lot of people these days, a lot of people make taqleed of Albaani’s tas-heeh. And assumes that if Albaani says it’s sahih, it’s the Sunnah. Shaikh has seen imaams who were physically removed from mosques because of hadiths Albaani said are Sahih were overlooked, even though Ibn Hajr, etc said the hadith was Sahih.

That’s an issue. It must be accepted people make mistakes. Sometimes two scholars might look at the same chain and one reaches the conclusion that it is saheeh and another scholar thinks it is daeef. Is a person to be blamed for that? He might be right.

There are large number of hadith that all scholars agree are authentic, then there are some hadith that all scholars agree are weak, and then there are some hadith that some scholars differ about. Hadith that come from most reliable narrators and there are many chains, these hadith no scholars have problems accepting it. And then you have some hadith where the narrators are weak or some are liars or fabricators, etc. [Edit: Refer to the notes of uloom al hadith to learn more about this topic.]

[Footnote: Shaikh is not a highly desirable term in the field of hadith, since it implies a person who is not a reliable narrator. Edit: It might mean that he is an old narrator and has weakness of memory, this is our conjecture and not statement of the Shaikh.]

Scholars accept the fact that there is such a thing as a permissible difference of opinion. No scholar has ever said that. And even the Prophet (SAWS) demonstrated that, e.g. the opinion re Bani Quraydah. Time came for Asr, so some of the Sahabah understood that they should pray and it was encouragement, and for others, they thought they were given special license to delay their prayers on their trip until they reached their destination.

The key behind understanding it is the Arabic nadam.

We spent a lot of time in Usool al Fiqh on this topic. Sometimes it is difficult to say which hadith is the strongest. Even just yesterday about the Hanafi interpreting the fatihah, etc. Once you start understanding the differences of opinion, you start respecting the different views. You may disagree with them, but you know where they came from. It’s not because they were rejecting the Sunnah -- you just think you must be right and everyone else absolutely wrong, that is incorrect.

If you go to a good sheikh, he will give you an opinion. If he is good, maybe even he gives you the reason for it. If he’s really good, then he may outline the different points of view and explain why his opinion is the strongest. But they’re not going to present opposing views that well, and that’s why it’s important to go to the source.

But you know that they are sincere. Example, Sh Jamaal prays behind a hanafi Imam, and the hanafis do not believe in tama’neenah in the movements of the salat (where in you have to allow your bones to settle at every position or station of salah). Hanafis recommend it, but don’t require it. So by the time you’re moving he’s finished -- say in sujood. So it’s frustrating, but it’s based on a deep fiqhi point: whether a general text is definitive or not.

We allow differences to create enmity between us, even if it is permissible differences. Others have their bases.

Under no circumstances can you allow this difference to enter your heart. This is like the Sahabah differed, but there was always a respect and did not hold it against one another.

One time Ibn Uthaymeen was asked a question. Q: If a person differs a lot from the people of knowledge, should one hate that scholar or attack that scholar.

Uthaymeen’s answer: No, never. Anyone who studied the opinion would realize that there are differences. It could be that the one who goes against the majority might be correct. As long as it doesn’t go against ijma’ one should never hate that person. One should discuss that topic with the person with the intention of finding the truth. Doesn’t mean they should disagree. If you believe that you’re both trying to please Allah (SWT), then you should not have hatred in your heart towards them.

If you are sincere in looking into that question, you might be convinced that you were wrong, but think about yourself and you decide that you were wrong. When you were wrong, were you opposing the Sunnah? Presumably no. So you understand and you thought that you were trying to do your best. One of the things that is beyond our ability is to know everything. What is within our ability is to do our best. Those people who are wrong are wrong with a sincere intention, the same way you were wrong. Just as you hope to be forgiven for your mistakes before you were made aware of the correct way.

2012-04-24 Class Notes

Last time we were discussing our attitudes towards differences of opinion among Muslims, one of the lessons of this hadith is that we should never have enmity with awliya of Allah swt. However many times we allow enmity to enter into our heart due to differences of opinion. There are many types of differences of opinion that should not allow enmity or rankor to enter our heart.

You should attempt to find what is the truth (haqq) and to implement and follow the truth. Your intention should be towards Allah swt, nasiha towards Allah swt, sincere intention towards Allah swt and you should make effort to find the truth. You should try to find out the stronger opinion, and you should work hard to find it.

But when you deal with others, you cannot expect others to follow the same opinion as you do.

Ikhtilaaf, Ikhtiraaf, ....

There are different categories of difference of opinions, some differences are acceptable and some are not. And you have to understand them.

Strong difference of opinion

Here an issue is open to ijtihaad and no side has clear definitive text for their opinion. If there is a clear text, then there is no ijtihaad. When you have no clear definitive text, then each side will present their evidence. Even knowledgeable scholars can come to different opinions, so if that was the case among them, then you cannot state that I am right and they are wrong. You might be convinced of your view, you might write articles, deliver lectures, give others nasiha, but you cannot force others to accept your view.

Acceptable difference of opinion and Weak differences of opinion

Both of these cases are areas of ijtihaad. A weak difference of opinion, is one where when you study the different evidences, you find them weak, so basically it is a baseless difference. For example, it is based on hadith that is weak and even scholars of the madhab present evidence against it. Still it is a matter of ijtihaad.

Completely rejected difference of opinion or blameworthy difference of opinion

Here somebody holds a view that explicitly goes against the Quran and the Sunnah. Just because somebody holds that view, it does not mean that we can accept it. For example, riba is not haraam, or there is no such thing as love and hate for the sake of Allah swt, there is no hijaab, etc. Many Muslims hold this opinion, but we dont accept it. And when we oppose this view, you are not violating the hadith, but you might be obligated to oppose those view.

Shaad opinion or slips and errors of the Ulema

THere is a hadith where the Prophet supposedly fears for the ummah the slips of the Ulema. As a statement of the prophet this hadith is weak, but it is a statement of Umar. Umar said that three are going to destroy the ummah, the slip or mistake of the alam, a hypocrite making statements of Quran (in other words misleading the ummah) and ????? Can somebody help me out ?????????

Ali said that if you were to put together all of these mistakes...Zaih said that if one were to follow these slips of the ulema then you will find yourself out of Islam.

SO some slips would allow you to consume alcohol, take riba, ..... And if someone were to follow them, then you would become a faseeq.

And you are not allowed to follow the mistakes, and you would not be excused by Allah swt if the mistakes goes directly against the Quran and SUnnah, even if the mistake is from a well known scholar. Scholars say that there is ijmaa on this point.

Many of the modernists have tried to justify their view. Ibn Uthaymeen said, that there is no issue in the deen, that there is some one who has an opinion that goes against others. So if you were to seek and find such opinions, which go against the QUran and SUnnah, then you have destroyed your deen.

Al Tunisi whose party is now ahead in Tunisia, said that there is not a complete agreement among legal theorist, that a text that has general wording cannot be applied for a specific ruling. He even said that that a general text is general. And he says that if there are difference of opinions then we are free to follow whatever we want. He does not tell you that these differences of opinions are the minority view. And he uses the opening to ......

Shaikh has been around many scholars and they are not in a habit go around telling people you did this wrong. ..... there is no ijtihaad in matters of aqeedah????????

For permissible differences of opinion there is no inkaar?????

It has been described by many sisters, that some sister will approach her after the prayers and list out her errors. Shaikh has heard many such complaints. And most likely what they are complaining is about matters of ijtihaad. THe principle is laa inkaar fi ....

Folding your hands after you get up from ruku. Shaikh said that he had four different opinions about keeping his hand straight, bringing them up and folding them, etc. THere are differences of opinions about it, even Shaikh bin Baaz and somebody else did not agree upon it.

If you create enmity between you and somebody who is worshiping Allah swt, then you are causing enmity towards somebody who is awliya of Allah swt, just out of fear of the warning from this hadith.

Even between husband and wife, the husband should not insist that you have to follow his view, in matters of permissible differences of opinions.

BaghiThere are other ways in which we cause enmity amongst ourselves. THere are many times and in many ways that we cause enmity between us and the awliya of ALlah swt. THey are usually tied into al baghah???? You are infringing on their rights.

Allah swt has described it for people who have come before us. Allah swt said that they did not become divided after they received the message, until enmity entered their hearts (baghi...)

Allah swt gives us examples and warns us about it many times. Another verse...... jealous animosity amongst themselves.

Al Baghi is one of the sin that is punished in this life and also in the hereafter. Prophet said, that there is no sin which is more likely punish the individual in this dunya and reserve some punishment for the hereafter, and that is baghi and cutting off relationships.

KibrBaghi is due to diseases of the heart, such a kibr or arrogance. People have tendency to be right and see themselves as right and have people respect them and have others follow their opinion. One of the definitions of kibr given by the Prophet is disdain for the truth and looking down on the people.

If I don’t follow your opinion, does it mean that I am against the sunnah? You should have good thoughts about this individual. And the reason he is not following it maybe because he has some more information.

These things can cause division -- Sh has seen people argue over opinion where there is room for differences. E.g. one particular masjid where the imam didn’t say ameen say it out loud. And the Imam was physically ejected from this masjid. They forced him to follow his view. This is a disease of the heart. If you don’t accept others’ rights to hold a different view, there is something wrong with you.

HasadFrequently hasad can enter into the heart. And this can cause enmity to other believers. Al-hasad is one of the strangest feelings for a believer to have. Someone might get more respect than you, receiving more bounties etc. But the thing you are upset with is the qadar of Allah (SWT), since ALlah swt has bestowed the bounty on that person. This is the decree of Allah (SWT) -- and you don’t even know if it is good or bad for that person. Sometimes bounties are reason for downfall.

BaghdaaBut sometimes hasad and hatred are combined. Prophet (SAWS) said: This disease that is coming for you is hatred (baghdaa) and hasad. It doesn’t cut the hair, but it cuts the deen. The Prophet (SAWS): By the one whose hand is my soul, you will not believe until you love one another.

Prophet said that in the heart of the individual, imaan and hasad will never be combined.Ta’aasubOne of the things we’ve seen in the last 20-30 years is ta’assub based on the group -- a blind obedience a blind love. Instead of the Prophet (SAWS) being the thing you love, it switches to your jama’ah or madhab. Many times people join these groups with good intentions and they want to make da’wah and help islam. Unfortunately, many of these groups are so group-oriented that after a while you are not working for Islam but for the group. You start attacking other Muslims not because it is haram, it is because they are following a different methodology and you see them as competition for your party. If the Muslims are victorious, you should be happy. But what happens is that you get so much into your group that if Islam comes from another group, you are not happy. It is because it is not due to your group.

(Edit: Shaikh raised his voice when delivering this topic, you could feel his passion about this disease that is affecting the ummah.)

So what is truth is what your madhab/group says -- it’s not the qur’an or sunnah any more. Every other opinion has to be opposed, even if it is in the realm of acceptable difference, it is not accepted.

One time, Sh translated a book (Jinn and Devils), and Sh was known to be of a certain group. The author of the book was from a different group. In particular Omar Al-Ashqar’s book on Jinn. The people from Omar’s group didn’t want to publish it because Sh translated it. The people from Sh’s group didn’t want to read the book because of the original author.

No-one objected to any of the content, but just because of the differences between the two groups, they differed. This is the kind of mentality that these groups get into. Starts off as simple competition, but then it becomes a kind of division. All of that is rooted in ignorance. Mostly cases of differences of opinion without contradiction.

IgnoranceIgnorance can cause enmity since we don’t correct appropriately. This is a very strong threat and whenever we cause division, we should consider if we are falling under threat of this hadith. Especially since Qur’an is very clear about this -- the Mu’miinoon support each other, and they are brothers. supposed to be awliya of one another. They are supposed to be supporters of one another.

And when they stray, you are supposed to correct one another. If you want to correct, you need to understand when, where to correct people. This is without even considering issues like making takfeer or making someone a mubtadi’.

Prophet warned us about takfeer, if that does not apply to them then it comes back to you.

Many times people ask question does not some persons opinion take them out of the fold of Imaan. You have to be very careful.

There’s a difference between kufr and kaafir and between bidaa and mubtadi. Kufr is action that takes someone out of Islam, but not everyone who commits an act of kufr becomes a kaafir.

There’s a hadith of the Prophet (SAWS) that told his sons before he died, he said burn my dead body and scatter my ashes over the ocean. So Allah (SWT) brought this man back together and asked him what is it that made you do what you did?

It was out of fear that Allah (SWT) would punish him. He was thinking he could escape the punishment of Allah (SWT). Isn’t this an act of kufr? It is an act of kufr since he believed that Allah swt would not be able to resurrect him if his body was burnt and ashes dissolved in the ocean. The person was ignorant and fearful, so Allah forgave him.

Someone might come to a view that is kufr based on incorrect ta’weel. The conclusion is kufr, but the way he got there may mean he is excused.

It is more proper and cautious to say: “This statement/action is kufr” (not this person is kaafir).” Similarly for bid’a vs mubtadi’. He might be following a hadith he believes is true. E.g. Sh was told that a hadith that “if you believe a rock can help you, it can help you.” This is a fabricated hadith.

Even some of the people declared kaafir it was only after a long process. E.g. Al Hajjaj Ibn Mansoor who said “Ana Al-Haqq” -- only after 30 scholars went and talked to him. If you’re going to start declaring someone as unbelievers -- this is something the extremists do, because it can be used as a tool; if you’re not Muslim then you can be called.

You might think this is for the non-Muslims, but it is also for the Muslims.

2012-05-01 Class Notes

Our relationship towards other believers is supposed to be one of closeness, love and mutual support. If somebody is devoting to Allah swt, then we should have this kind of relationship with him. As Allah swt says in the Quran, your wali can only be Allah, his messenger and those who believe. And then Allah swt describes the attributes of those who belief. And he reminds us that the party of ALlah is victorious. And then there is a strong warning on those who oppose the wali, Allah swt declares war on them. The reason for this declaration of war is because in a sense you have some enmity or hatred towards Allah swt.

IN another hadith it states, Whoever takes one of my awliya as his enemy, then he has opened himself to war against me. In another narration it says that this person has stepped out in war against me.

We have to understand the gravity of this enmity of the awliya. And because we are declaring enmity against the devoted servants of Allah swt, that means you are willing to fight against Allah swt.

Shawqani reminds us that we do not have the means to fight against Allah swt. But in reality, human beings deny Allah swt, and deny the rights of Allah swt. No one can actually stand against Allah swt.

Even though the hadith #38 only mentions awliya in the singular, just imagine that if you are enmity against only one and Allah swt declares war upon you, then imagine what would happen if you would oppose many awliya.

If anybody joins the disbelievers in their hatred towards the awliya of Allah swt, this is something that Allah swt has warned about and prohibited throughout the Quran. Some scholars say that this is the most cited warning in the Quran. At the time of the Prophet, the disbelievers opposed him. BUt also throughout the history, the other states and ideologies opposed Islam. ANd you can in fact show that this clash is natural and it is bound to occur. Allah swt warns us over and over again that it is a great sin for us to side with disbelievers over the believers.

Allah swt reminds us that let not believers take the disbelievers as awliya over the believers........ except if you are in danger.

ALlah swt expects this kind of behaviour from pure hypocrites. Allah swt reminds us, hypocrites have a painful doom..... are they seeking power.... Allah swt tells us that they are looking for power and wealth and status from the disbelievers and the reality is all of those come from Allah swt. Allah swt further states, do not take the jews and christians as the awliya, they are awliya to one another. Tawalla is stronger than awla because you have turned over to them. And Allah swt does not guide the wrongdoing folks, and in their hearts is disease..... And this was during the time of the battle between Muslims and kufar. ANd the hypocrites were siding with the kufar in order to hedge their bets and to make sure that they would receive wealth and power from the kufar in case they won. And Allah swt exposed their crimes to the prophet.

You can find many cases of Muslims who were traitors to the rest of the Muslims. One of the most famous case was Abu Abdullah from Spain and it was from the benefit of the worldly purpose. They sold their souls to the devil. And once the traitors were of no use to them, they were discarded. THis happened during the crusades and also in recent Muslim history.

Allah (swt) says that these people are going to pay. Sh. does not want to get into those examples, because if you take a principle and apply it to specific cases, this is dangerous.

We know some of the earliest Afghani leaders who were the ones who helped the Russians come to power, and then the Russians killed them. Similarly the case of the Shah of Iran -- he desperately needed medical treatment in the US, but was left high and dry by the ones they had served, since he no longer served their purpose and had become a liability.

They have turned against Muslims for some worldly purpose. Allah (SWT) makes it very clear that even amongst disbelievers as a whole are worldly ties -- they are seeking some kind of worldly benefit. They are using one another. In the long run, they will realize they were using one another and in the end they will disavow one another; indeed they will wish to heap more punishment on others.

Sahih International

And the Day the wrongdoer will bite on his hands [in regret] he will say, "Oh, I wish I had taken with the Messenger a way.

Sahih International

Oh, woe to me! I wish I had not taken that one as a friend.

Sahih International

He led me away from the remembrance after it had come to me. And ever is Satan, to man, a deserter."

Allah swt says the wrongdoer will say on the day of judgement, oh woe to me ..... and satan is a deserter in their need of hour.

THis hadith reminds us that Allah swt is wali which means protector, since the word wali has both meanings, the supporter and the supported. So Allah swt is now their wali, since they supported Allah swt

Sahih International

Indeed, Allah defends those who have believed. Indeed, Allah does not like everyone treacherous and ungrateful.

Allah swt takes them from darkness to the light. And he reminds us that he defends those who believe.

This aspect of having love and loyalty for the believers and not having any enmity with the believers is one of the sunans or societal laws in this creation of Allah swt. If you oppose Allah swt’s servant then you are taking Allah swt as your enemy.

And Allah swt promises to help the believers, specially the messengers.

This is a promise from Allah swt and we know that what Allah swt says is true. And he promises that he gives support and victory to the believers.

What is nasr or the victory from Allah swt, and what is its form?

Unfortunately most people have short sighted view of this nasr. They have worldly sense of this power and domination. It is definitely one of the forms that Allah swt gives, but depending upon the circumstance, this might not be the only form or the best from of nasr.

Many times especially for those who become politically active, they forget that our ultimate goal is to servitude of Allah (SWT). The worldly aspects of spreading the word of Allah (SWT) all of these are part and process of uboodiyyah, but they should never be confused with the overall goal. Because that is not the essence/purpose of our goal. Such that if we don’t achieve those goals of making Allah’s word supreme, we think we have not been successful.

Some Prophets (SAWS) will come on the Day of Judgement without any followers. Do you think those Prophets were not victorious? Sh assures us that they are both successful and victorious.

Nasr in reality means that you have achieved your goal and purpose, And ALlah swt has helped you in achieving your goal and purpose. Those believers who are described in Surah Al-Burooj as being put in the pit of fire. Their steadfastness was a victory and help from Allah swt.

Having a short sighted view of Nasr can have harmful consequences.

1. Leads to confusion and doubt.

If Muslims would believe that the only victory is a military victory and it is not in their reach, then it could lead to doubt. And it could lead someone to follow improper steps in order to bring about results that they have in mind. For example, those who follow terrorism, in hopes of bringing about the results that they have in mind.

2. It could lead to despair, which could lead to inaction. And it could lead to abandoning the actions that are pleasing to Allah swt.

If you look at the Quran and see how Allah swt gives Nasr.

Conventional/Apparent VictoryOne of the obvious ways is a clear military victory over the disbelievers. For example: Dawud and Sulayman and his defeat of Goliath and he was also given wealth and wisdom. Similarly the rescue of Musa and the defeat of his enemies. Also the Prophet (SAWS)’s victory as discussed in Surah Nasr. When you see it, you see it as tangible. It is also something beloved to the nafs. Your paradigm is the strongest and your people are in charge. It is also something beloved to the human.

Allah swt says another thing you love is victory from Allah swt.

Having the opponents of the truth completely destroyed

You can see it in the examples of the Prophets Nuh, Salih, Hood. And their stories are mentioned in the Quran.

Allah avenges the enemies of the believers even after the death of the Prophet/Messenger

Example: Yahya. His story is not mentioned in the Quran. He was one of the messengers killed by Bani Isra’eel -- they were exposed after his death and they were destroyed. Sometimes the situation a believer is put in looks like defeat but it is truly victory -- e.g. being killed, imprisoned, exiled, or being harmed by the disbelievers. Sometimes people look at it as not being victory, but it turns out to be a true nasr/victory from Allah (SWT).

Death is sometimes a victory

Example: those who are killed as shaheed. This ajr and special place of shahaadah, this is a clear victory and support from Allah (SWT). Allah tells us not to describe them as dead. S Taubah addressing the disbelievers, it says: what are you expecting for us? Only two good things could happen to us. Either we defeat you, or we die with our imaan and true success/victory.

Sometimes by someone’s death, religion is established -- as in the case and story in Surah Burooj.

Many people point to Syed Qutb, his work became successful because of his death. One communist who was imprisoned along with Syed Qutb hoped that he would die so that his book would also become as successful as Syed Qutb’s. His book was so successful that it was published by a Christian publisher in Lebanon, there was so much demand for it.

Being remembered in a good way

As Prophet Ibrahim mentions, this was one of the forms of victory.

Being driven out of your home

Even being driven out of your land is a form of Nasr. ALlah swt describes the hijrah of the prophet as being nasr from Allah swt. If you look at it from secular point of view was the best thing that could happen to the prophet, because he now had a base, he had followers, he became strong, established an army and was able to go and enter Makkah victoriously.

And if you look at the seerah of the Prophet, you can see that he received all forms of Nasr that we have described so far.

2012-05-08 Class Notes

We were discussing different forms of nasr from Allah swt. When Allah swt is describing war on the enemies of his awliya, that means Allah swt is coming to the aid of his awliya. Many times when we think of nasr, our perception is very narrow or short-sighted. Nasr does not necessarily translate to victory, it means help, support or other forms.

Sometimes nasr is military or political victory, sometimes it is the destruction of the enemies, sometimes it is avenging the death of the awliya.

Examples of nasr that at first appearance looks like defeat

#1: The nasr can also come in the form that an individual may assume is a form of defeat, for example being killed, but it is not necessarily a defeat. Firstly, the person may die a shaheed. Secondly, being killed may cause the victory to come about (e.g. the people of the ditch).

#2: Another example is the muhajiroon and the Prophet (SAWS) who were being driven out of Makkah. What could be worse in terms of defeat? But being pushed out of Makkah was one of the greatest steps in the eventual victory of Islam. By moving out of Makkah, they were able to rally each other, make alliances, make da’wah, etc. Within ten years, they were able to come back to have victory over the same people who had driven them out.

#3: The Treaty of Hudaybiah is another clear example of victory that looks like defeat. Even some of the Sahabah like Umar, thought it was defeat. Especially after Abu Jandal comes to the Muslims as a refugee and as part of the contract they had to send him back. Some of the believers may have felt it was not right. But Allah (SWT) describes the treaty as “a clear victory”

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Indeed, We have given you, [O Muhammad], a clear conquest

This was the best thing that could have happened to the Muslims, because they had years of peace, and it eventually lead to the allies of Quraysh, violating the treaty, and allowing Muslims to end the treaty.

Sometimes we don't recognize it as Nasr, but after some time and with real knowledge are able to understand that it is a real Nasr. Many scholars point out, that when people oppose the awliya of Allah swt (or make dhulm in general), this has a negative effect on their psychology, specially if it was a Muslim opposing another Muslim. One example was the Hujjaj ibn Yusuf of Iraq, who was a tough and violent man, one of the Muslims who was killed wrongfully by him was Said ibn Jubayr. After this incident, ibn Yusuf went into what we would call PTSD, he could not sleep or eat, and he eventually died because of this disease.

Allah swt punishes these type of people, sometimes psychologically, and one of the reasons was that they were killing unjustly.

All forms of hardships are sources of good, only for the believers. Prophet said, affairs of the believers are truly amazing, all of his affairs are good, and this is not true except for the true believers, if something good were to befall him, he is thankful, and if something bad were to befall him, he is patient.

At Thabaat

It is the ability to remain steadfast upon the religion of Allah swt. Here Allah swt gives you strength to remain steadfast on the deen, no matter what the difficulty or hardship in the path of Allah swt. And this thabaat is a bounty from Allah swt. Because the worst loss you can suffer, is losing your deen. So the best reward is the one that keeps you from the worst loss that you can suffer. So the end result would be the pleasure of Allah swt.

Imam At Tabari tells us about other ways that Allah swt helps the believers. He mentions the Surah Safat verse 171 and 172.

Hujjah al Burhan

And highlights the fact where Allah swt has given proofs.... And for that he mentions the surah which mentions Ibrahim and proof .....

He considers it to be

Surah Baqarah which mentions the conversation between disbelievers and Ibrahim.

Nasr sometimes prevents harm coming to the awliya. ALlah swt mentions that he is going to prevent any harm coming to the Prophet, surah ..... we will suffice you, ..... ALlah is protecting you from .... ANd after this verse, Prophet refused to have any bodyguards accompany him, this does not mean that the sahaba did not volunteer, but he refused.

Prophet received all forms of Nasr that we discussed.

Military and political victory: Prophet defeated Makkah and most of Arabia was under his authority. Destroyed opponents: Some opponents joined him and others were destroyed.Nasr that looks like defeat: Hijrah, Hudaybiyah and others that we mentioned.Hujjah al Burhan - proofs: This was of course the QuranThabaat: Sh mentioned a verse from the quran, I missed it.....Nasr after his death: Islam continues to spread even after his death.

Things being given to the Muslims

Allah (SWT) says:

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And We have already sent messengers before you to their peoples, and they came to them with clear evidences; then We took retribution from those who committed crimes, and incumbent upon Us was support of the believers.

It is a must upon us to support the believers. Surah Rum verse 47.

Allah (SWT) gives you strength to hold fast to your deen in face of all kinds of calamities, trials, tribulations, desires, shaytan, etc. Nowadays there are so many forms and sources of desires, whether it is due to anonymity or loss of community, ease of availability of alcohol or other things.

Whether it is gambling, alcohol, things on the Internet are calling out to everyone. It takes strength and resolve to withstand everything. If you look at who has power today, it is the Judeo-Christian groups. Many of them would love to derail you from the straight path.

This is discussed in the Ayah:

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Many of the People of the Scripture wish they could turn you back to disbelief after you have believed, out of envy from themselves [even] after the truth has become clear to them. So pardon and overlook until Allah delivers His command. Indeed, Allah is over all things competent.

During the time of the prophet and khalifa, it was very difficult for them to achieve this goal. This strong force is trying to affect the believer and take them away from the straight path. And be able to withstand this attack and hold fast to the deen is truly a sign of thabaat for the true believers.

It does not even have to be Judeo Christian groups, it could be secularists and other groups who do not want to see ..... Liberals believe their path or way of life is the best. Human rights slogan is one of the most dominant slogans in the world, and all of these are forms of taking the Muslims away from the path of Allah swt.

Allah swt gives the true believers happiness when they follow this true path. This is the real thabaat. It is not only knowing that you are following the straight path, but it gives you pleasure and happiness knowing that you are following the straight path.

It will take us some time to see the obvious forms of nasr that we mentioned earlier.

Could someone say that thabaat is not really present?

When Allah swt is allowing the disbelievers to adhere to kufr, is this a form of nasr?There is difference between nasr and istidraj appearing for there to be real nasr Nasr is one gives help and support in this life and the hereafter. Whereas istidraj is not help from Allah swt, because it leads to destruction and hell fire in the hereafter.

Getting something that looks good and victory in this dunya, might actually be more harmful in the hereafter. Allah swt tells the Prophet in Quran, 7:181 - 183

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And among those We created is a community which guides by truth and thereby establishes justice.

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But those who deny Our signs - We will progressively lead them [to destruction] from where they do not know.

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And I will give them time. Indeed, my plan is firm.

Prophet said, that if you see Allah swt giving a servant things of this dunya, even if he is not a true believer, then it is istidraaj......

On the other hand, Allah swt tells us about the believers, who ever does righteousness, ... they will get a good life .....

Allah swt says that whoever follows my guidance will not go astray ..... and those who do not follow the guidance, they will be depressed ... and when they are raised they will ask ... and Allah swt will respond ...

The whole purpose of what is being described is to remind us that Allah (SWT) is coming to the defense of his awliyaa and for the destruction of those who oppose them.

Ibn Rajab in his commentary on forty hadith of Nawawi, mentions “All of the acts of disobedience are forms of waging war against Allah -- the worse the sin, the more serious the war waged against Allah -- it is for that reason the consumption of interest, and sowing mischief and so on these are the things Allah describes as waging war).

There are numerous ways in which Allah swt gives us nasr. And we have enumerated the many different forms in which he gives us help.

Next week we will begin with the next part of the hadith.

2012-05-15 Class Notes

On the authority of Abu Hurairah who said: The Messenger of Allah (upon whom be Allah’s blessings and peace) said, “Allah the Almighty has said, ‘Whoever has mutual animosity with a devoted servant (wali) of Mine, I declare war upon him. My servant does not draw near to Me with anything more beloved to Me than the religious duties that I have imposed upon him; and My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works such that I love him. And when I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes, and his leg with which he walks. Were he to ask of Me, I would surely give him; and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it.’ “ Recorded by Al Bukhari

We see this hadith that Allah (SWT) says that the one who opposes one of the Awliyaa, Allah declares war upon him. Then Allah (SWT) says that he does not draw near to me etc...

Q: Is there a clear relationship between the first and the second statement?One of the meanings of the word wali is to come close to, the awliyaa are close to Allah swt. And then Allah swt describes the process by which one comes close to Allah swt. And once Allah swt has declared his love for his awliyaa and the willingness to come to his defense, the feeling that should arise among us is that we want to close to Allah swt. We should have this feeling that we want to be from the awliya of Allah swt. And once you have that feeling in your heart, Allah swt then describes the process by which you can draw close to him.

We know that not all of the awliyaa are at the same level, some outrace the others. And here Allah swt describes the two levels of awliyaa. The most important and beloved way to become closer is by doing those actions that Allah swt has obligated upon us. The obligatory acts are also very effective in influencing the individual as well. These are the positive benefits to the obligatory acts. Prayers restrain individual from fashaa and lewdness.

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Recite, [O Muhammad], what has been revealed to you of the Book and establish prayer. Indeed, prayer prohibits immorality and wrongdoing, and the remembrance of Allah is greater. And Allah knows that which you do.

The first obligation is the proper tauheed (belief) that comes before anything else. It has many names such as shahadah, aqeedah, etc. Some heretical groups say that the first obligation is to have doubt, then look for evidence, and that would lead to Allah swt. They were heavily influenced by the philosophers. From the shariah perspective this is wrong. The prophet never asked anyone to doubt. If you are born a muslim, there is no evidence that you are required to have doubt before you can believe. Human beings are already leaning towards belief, as seen from the verse of the Quran.

This belief that we have about Allah swt is a sound belief, it might need to be adjusted. All of the messengers were sent with this message to worship Allah swt and him alone.

Quran: Worship Allah and abstain from the idols.

Quran: Oh my people worship Allah, because you have no other illah other than him.

Hadith: When the Prophet sent Mu’adh to Yemen, he said that you will meet people of ahl al kitaab, the first thing you have to call them to is to worship Allah alone.

Is the word aqeedah in the Quran or hadith? The word used for aqeedah in the Quran is Imaan. It is not only belief but also your actions. First they used to call it sunnah.

Similarly the word tawheed -- is it mentioned in the Qur’an? This field of belief and Imaan, Abu Hanifah referred to it as al-fiqh al-akbar -- the greatest field of human understanding. Because there will be no true life for the hearts, unless the hearts know their Lord and their Creator by His names and His attributes. There is no tranquility without tawheed.

Abu Haneefah also says that tawheed is the first message of the messengers and the first step on the path to Allah (SWT), and it should be the last thing that the person leaves this dunya with. It is the first and last obligation.

So it is the first thing we should talk about with respect to obligatory deeds. And it should be the last thing on our tongues before we die.

Unfortunately the issue of tawheed, its ramifications and what negates it, this often times is not understood by the Muslim masses as a whole. Even amongst some active Muslims, they sometimes think they are not as important as other things. Many times people restrict the meaning of tawheed and shahaadah.

Al-Albaani was discussing a book in which the author was discussing the shahaadah, and this author defined it as la rabba illallah

When you change la ilaha illallah to la rabba illallah, what are you doing?

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If you asked them, "Who created the heavens and earth and subjected the sun and the moon?" they would surely say, " Allah ." Then how are they deluded?

Arabs during the time would have understood la rabba differently then la ilaaha. The Arabs of jahiliyaah agreed that the creator of this world was Allah. For them illah was the mabood, the one that is to be worshipped. So the agreed that Allah was an illah, but not the only illah. This is what they could not accept, because they worshipped many idols, they understood that these idols did not create the world.

If someone thinks that La ilaaha illa Allah means there is no creator except Allah, then that person’s understanding is not complete. That person must also believe that there is no one that should be worshipped except Allah.

Albaani continues that in his time, their understanding of tawheed is not as good as the understanding of the Mushrikeen at the time of the Prophet (SAWS). It was the language of the Mushrikeen, and htis is why. But the mushrikeen at the time of the Prophet (SAWS) clearly understood the implications. They understood that it meant that every other thing that they worshipped other than Allah was null and void. And that is what a Muslim has to do in his heart.

There is a famous Muslim in Islamic history who said that he became Muslim but it took him 10 years before he removed all of the aalihah from his heart. Your own desires can become your ilaah -- the thing that is your object of devotion/adoration. This is why amongst the Muslims you see people making worship to things/people.

Even the Christians when it comes to the creation of the Heaven and the Earth and you were to say that the Son created the Earth people will say it is the Father who created the Earth. The problem is not their ruboobiyyah, but their uloohiyyah: they worship Jesus, they say “Thank you Jesus.” Even them they realize that they recognize the son as the Ilaah, not the rabb or the father.

Levels of BeliefSecond reason to study tawheed is because the effect of belief and tawheed has also been weakened. Many of the ulema discuss three levels of belief.

Example: someone is informed that his mother dies. He understands the fact that his mother passes away, and then he becomes saddened, and then he starts to take care of the affairs.

But this is the problem with Imaan these days. Sometimes people reach level 1 and sometimes level 2. The emotions are sometimes level 2 -- e.g. about the treatment of the Qur’an. But the problem is that sometimes it doesn’t lead to the appropriate action.

If we understand Iman properly we should feel things: love, fear and hope. Then the actions should come from that. The greater that someone understands the approach to tawheed and what he should do as a consequence is the missing ingredient.

There are some aspects of tawheed that non-Muslims don’t want to discuss. E.g. to have loyalty to those who believe. After 9/11 there are a number of countries where the Islamic curriculum was re-done. They took out aspects of the aqeedah -- these are aspects of tawheed itself. Another reason for understanding tawheed. It is the first obligation and it is being threatened.

Many times it becomes a theoretical/academic discussion. It was never meant to be this way. It is the first step of the purification process and the first step of getting closer to Allah (SWT). Allah describes the Mushrikeen as najis or impure. This is not a physical impurity but a spiritual one. Understanding tawheed and removing shirk is the first step in purifying ourselves.

2012-05-22 Class Notes

The most important deed that he has given us is the obligatory actions which bring us closer to him. This should be obvious that the most important actions would be the ones that are obligatory. And the first of the obligatory action is tawheed.

In Islam, there are not just physical acts, but also obligatory acts of the hearts. Tawheed is known also as Imaan or Aqeedah is one of the core aspects of Islam. We saw that Imaan is much more than tawheed.

The virtues, benefits and effects of tawheedTawheed is not just belief about Allah (SWT), but it is also about your actions and your relationship with Allah (SWT). Your submission and you doing acts for the sake of Allah (SWT) is the practical part of tawheed.

The more comprehensive is the person’s understanding, he can see how it should affect and rule every aspect of his life. How he looks at creation, ..... will all be ramifications of his tawheed. We have to keep in mind the comprehensiveness of tawheed. This understanding drives you to learn more about it and drive all aspects of your life.

Prophet said, whoever bears witness to the shahada.... and that isa is the servant of allah..... and jannah is a reality and hellfire is reality, Allah swt will enter him into jannah, regardless of what actions he was upon.

Whenever the prophet said whoever said la ilaaha..... it is not just words. The shahadah is not just stating the words and not living upto the words, because we know that the hypocrites during the time of the Prophet did say those words, but we know from the hadith of the Prophet that the hypocrites will be in the lowest level of hellfire.

Tawheed also means staying away from any kind of shirk. When Allah swt says, .... whoever invents a partner to Allah has created a big lie..... and some other verse.... These verses talk about tawheed. When a person has tawheed and if he stays free and clear from shirk, he will avoid hellfire.

We have a number of texts that point us to benefits and virtues of tawheed. When you see all of them together, it helps you remind you the importance of the tawheed and to continually refresh your tawheed.

Imaan is something volatile -- you always have to be aware of these kinds of things, and the more you remind yourself of the benefits of tawhid, this will be a driving factor for you to check your tawheed.

Tawheed is the greatest blessingOne of the greatest blessings that is bestowed on an individual is tawheed.

In Surah Nahl it is referred to as the surah of blessings of Allah:

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He sends down the angels, with the inspiration of His command, upon whom He wills of His servants, [telling them], "Warn that there is no deity except Me; so fear Me."

The first thing that is mentioned is that messengers are sent to us, to help us understand the importance of tawheed. We have the fitra or natural disposition to understand tawheed. But Allah swt sent messengers and revelations to help us understand tawheed.

We see clearly from the Quran is the fulfillment of la ilahaa illalah. Allah swt has not created the human and jinns but to worship him. This has an effect on the human being, regardless of whether we understand it or not. Our nature is to worship Allah swt, but when we dont live up to that goal, our soul knows that we are missing something. The goal of the nafs is tawheed and when we implement tawheed, then we meet the goal.

Tawheed is a means of rescue from the evils of this world and the hereafterTawheed is one of the greatest means that Allah rescues people from the evils of this world and the hereafter. Example: The story of Yunus (AS)

Were it not for the fact that he had that tawheed, he would have remained inside the belly until the day of judgement. But Allah swt rescued him because of his tawheed.

And it is via tawheed that human being is saved from perpetually being in the hellfire. There are many hadith which state that a believer might be punished in the hellfire. The hadith describe that Allah swt will rescue those who have a small amount of tawheed in their heart, from the hellfire. And those who do not have tawheed will be in the hellfire for ever.

If someone is living up to the obligations of tawheed, that individual will never be entered into hellfire. Tawheed is the key to enter jannah without facing any punishment.

Prophet said, Allah swt has forbidden hellfire to whoever says la ilaaha .... This is understood that the individual lives up to the tawheed, as described earlier about the hypocrites.

Allah swt says, those who believe and do not mix their belief with dhulm (the meaning of dhulm is not wrong doing but shirk). When sahaba heard this verse, they thought it was a difficult verse to live up to and prophet explained that dhulm here means shirk. So if you stay free from shirk, will have aman or security. It is an internal feeling, we are not talking about war and peace, we are talking about the aman of the nafs.

Tawheed is the key to acceptance of our deeds by Allah swtAllah swt tells us at the end of Surah Kahf, whoever has hope in the meeting of his lord.... let him not associate anybody with Allah swt. Hadith Qudsi, Allah swt says that I am the most self sufficient and I have no need for a partner......

The key to accepting our deeds is to have no partners with Allah swt. If individual has good understanding of tawheed, it becomes easier for you to do good deeds, since your perception of the world changes. You do not perform good deeds for personal pleasure or esteem.

Tawheed makes all of the affairs easier for the individualTawheed also makes the affair of this world easier on the human being. Hardship, death, destruction become easier to him. Because his time frame is different. If he looses something in this life, he knows that it is not permanent. And if some hardship comes he knows it could be good for him. It makes this life much easier.

A person who is materialist, he becomes distraught when he lives the material world or his possession. He does not think about the other life.

Tawheed frees an individual from servitude to anything other than Allah swtWe are also talking about the feeling of the heart, or fear of anything other than Allah swt.

If someone’s heart is attached to something other than Allah (SWT), that person is obviously going to be a failure. E.g. if you pin your rizq on your employer and you think the money comes only from them, then you will feel a very high level of fear and that there is no way out. But if you believe that Allah is the Provider and not your employer, then you won’t panic. This one aspect of being Al-Razzaq is one characteristic that people have a difficult time actually internalizing it.

Freedom from ServitudeAnother benefit of this freedom of servitude, is that the goal and purpose is one. So your actions are directed towards this one goal. You cannot chase two goals, because you have to make a choice.

Allah swt has given us a parable or an example, a slave who is owned by many partners and one who is owned by one master, are they equal?

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Allah presents an example: a slave owned by quarreling partners and another belonging exclusively to one man - are they equal in comparison? Praise be to Allah ! But most of them do not know.

So the person who has more goals that are in competition, will not be the same as one goal. We can see it in our workplace, when you have to please more than one boss. Same is true for life as a whole. Having one goal makes it easy for you to direct all of your energy to that one goal.

Tawheed allows the rewards for our action to be multiplied by Allah swtHadith Qudsi from the 40 hadith in which the Prophet has described how he has recorded the good deeds and evil deeds. ALlah swt says that when someone intends to do good deeds and then does good deeds, Allah swt multiplies them 700 times or more. This is due to you ikhlaas or sincerity of your actions.

Honor go to the ones who have TawheedAllah swt gives help and victory and honor and support to believers. This hadith which we are discussing shows us the ways that Allah swt comes to the help of the believers

The key to both a good life in this world and the HereafterAllah swt says, .... we shall give him a good life (tayabban hayya) in this world, and then we shall reward him according to the best of what he has done.

Tawheed is the source of forgivenessSince tawheed is the negation of shirk, so Allah swt says in Hadith Qudsi, .... if you were to come to me with sins that fill the earth and if you stayed away from shirk, I will forgive you ........

So if you have a large amount of sins, but if you have tawheed and avoid shirk, it is a key for forgiveness. And we have talked before that even if you have tawheed, it does not mean that you will not commit sins.

Tawheed is the key to the purification of the soulThe true essence of spiriitual impurity is to associate partners with Allah. Prophet said that the polytheists are impure. We are not talking about physical impurity but spiritual impurity.

Tawheed is the key to attaining the pleasure of Allah (SWT)The starting point for the pleasure of Allah (SWT) has to be tawheed. It has some basic fundamentals to it.

Tawheed Al-Ilmi and Tawheed al AmaliSome people know about Allah (SWT) and have studied his names and attributes. They understand the ramifications of those names. They have knowledge about Allah swt. And that by itself has great benefits.

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And among people and moving creatures and grazing livestock are various colors similarly. Only those fear Allah , from among His servants, who have knowledge. Indeed, Allah is Exalted in Might and Forgiving.

The people of knowledge have true fear of Allah swt. Their love for Allah swt is strong. THe knowledge is going to help and more the benefits from this knowledge. So people have various degrees of knowledge, and you should strive to be among those who have this knowledge.

Many times we emphasize the outward actions, which are important, but the actions of the heart are of great importance, because it will bring us closer to Allah swt and the obligatory actions.

The hadith #38 makes it clear that there are obligatory actions and other actions that are nawaafil. So we have to understand the benefits of the obligatory and nawaawfil, give them the proper ranking and benefit from it.

The first obligation is tawheed and the practical application is the shahadah. This shahadah whether it is stated by new muslims or by muslims, it has shuruut which are knowledge, acceptance, sincerity, love.

Tawheed gives you strength, since you know that you can rely on Allah swt. For example, Prophet Musa was able to stand up to the Pharaoh. And also it gives you strength to stay away from the wrong or evil deeds.

2012-05-29 Class Notes

This is the last class for this quarter. The first of the religious duties, the obligatory duties is tawheed. And the actual action that exemplifies this duty is the shahadah. We will discuss the shuroot of the shahadah and then the implications of it.

We have to make sure that we have fulfilled this obligation properly, which is the testimony of faith. The statement by itself is not sufficient to make someone a Muslim in the sight of Allah swt, until it meets certain conditions.

... was once asked isnt the statement of la ilaha illa Allah not the key to paradise? He said yes, but it should have the right ridges (Edit: notches of the key), without the right ridges on the key, the door to paradise will not open.

Two important issues about the testimonial of shahadah:

Relying on a single text is mistaken

Example: People take the hadith “Whoever says laa ilaaha illa Allah shall enter Jannah.” Looking at the Ahadith about Munaafiqeen it’s clear that there are criteria that need to be met.

These are the matters of the heart

Many of these criteria are within the heart and are not visible to others, so we should know about these criteria ourselves (look within yourself) and ensure that we fulfill these criteria.

Shuroot (Conditions) of la ilaaha illa Allah

These issues are the result of istiqraa or induction -- they refer to the Shahaadah and you can derive from the texts what these conditions are. Most of the ‘ulema say there are 7 conditions, some add an 8th and a 9th condition.

While mentioning the criteria we will also include the opposite or their negation to further emphasize their meaning.

We have to make sure that we are fulfilling all of these criteria in order to make sure that our shahaadah is accepted by Allah swt. In reality not meeting any of these above conditions, is violating or negating tawheed.

#1: Knowledge or ‘ilm (العلم) and its opposite is Ignorance

Sahih International

So know, [O Muhammad], that there is no deity except Allah and ask forgiveness for your sin and for the believing men and believing women. And Allah knows of your movement and your resting place.

In today’s class we will discuss ignorance. By knowledge and understanding, we are talking of what the shahaadah implies and not the entire field of knowledge. Note that this is only one of the criteria -- if you are missing it, then you will not enter Jannah. It is necessary, but not sufficient.

What we know is that when something is critical to the deen, then the number and strength of evidences increases. All of the messengers point to and discuss the meaning of laa ilaaha illa Allah. This is one of the blessings of Allah

Understanding of la illaha ... is an obligation upon everybody and its meaning is understandable by everybody, we have proofs for both of these statements from the Quran and Sunnah.

Allah swt provides us so much evidence and points us to it in so many ways, and makes it understandable by everybody. Based on these facts, our scholars have come to a conclusion that ignorance of shahadah is not excusable. We cannot go on the day of judgement and say that this message was not conveyed to us.

It is inexcusable for someone who lives among Muslims and it should be known by everybody. Not having knowledge of the shahaadah is inexcusable. This is not a minor point -- they are saying that everyone should definitely understand it.

But we have strayed in our understanding of the deen so much that it is true that there are Muslims today who don’t understand the shahaadah. Indeed there is a Muslim country that had a week long celebration to the Gods of the Sea.

Shahaadah is a testimony, so how can you testify to something that you do not know and understand. This is a basic requirement for anybody who is a witness. You have to understand what you are testifying to. Some of the mushrikeen at the time of the Prophet understood shahaadah better than some of the Muslims today.

Example: When you read the readings of the Salaf, you see that this word Shahaadah has different ramifications to it. They said that when you testify to something, there are 5 things that it implies. Ali Imran verse 18 tells us

Sahih International

Allah witnesses that there is no deity except Him, and [so do] the angels and those of knowledge - [that He is] maintaining [creation] in justice. There is no deity except Him, the Exalted in Might, the Wise.

Here are the conditions they outlined:

- You have to understand what you are saying, you have to have knowledge about it- You have to enunciate what you say, you have to say it out loud - You have to inform others about it (if you are witness to something and are not willing to share then in reality you are not willing to testify, or let others know about it)- If you are testifying then you are accepting to live by the consequence of that statement of testimony. You should be living up to that.

Even Allah swt lives up to the statement of shahaadah. Allah swt has knowledge of the shahaadah, he has spoken about it, ordered others to testify to it, and is willing to punish those who do not testify to it.We should also know what are some of the things that contradict the shahaadah.

Al Bukhari in his Sahih, has a chapter titled, knowledge must come before statements and actions, and then he quotes the verse that we mentioned earlier. Knowledge should come before shahaadah.

What are the implications of being ignorant of the Shahadah?

The ignorance comes from not listening to the Qur’an and the Sunnah. If you just go from beginning to the end, you can’t miss it. Alternatively, they don’t contemplate it.

Sahih International

And they will say, "If only we had been listening or reasoning, we would not be among the companions of the Blaze."

Allah swt says those in the hellfire say if only if we had listened or used our reasoning we would not be among the companions of the hellfire.

One of the big problems of ignorance, is that it is transitive. It means that it leads to other problems. If a Muslim is ignorant of the meaning of la ilaaha illah allah, is he sinful? An adult muslim who has access to knowledge, it would be sin on that individual for not knowing the meaning of the shahaadah.

Ignorance leads to other sins. So the first sin is that you are ignorant of the meaning of la ilaah illah Allah and that sin could lead you to shirk. Because there is nothing to protect you from falling into shirk.

Allah swt ties ignorance to being misguided.

Ignorance is also closely related to denial. Many human beings are not willing to accept their ignorance, instead they deny or reject. Those Muslims who are ignorant of the shahaadah, they deny or reject your naseeha. So if somebody is worshipping a grave and you tell them that what they are doing is wrong, they will reject you, because of their ignorance.

Ignorance also leads to taqleed, not the good type of taqleed. Allah swt says that when it is said to them to follow what Allah has revealed, they say we will follow our forefathers even if they were not knowledgeable.

Ignorance leads to following hawaa or desires.

Ignorance leads to argumentation using false arguments. Allah swt mentions this in the Quran, they dont have knowledge but they are willing to argue and present false arguments.

Sahih International

And when it is said to them, "Come to what Allah has revealed and to the Messenger," they say, "Sufficient for us is that upon which we found our fathers." Even though their fathers knew nothing, nor were they guided?

Sahih International

And of the people is he who disputes about Allah without knowledge or guidance or an enlightening book [from Him],

We are around people who are knowledgeable, but we should have the drive to learn it, since it is the foundation of our faith. So the expectation is that every Muslim should have the desire to understand it and verify that their understanding is correct. We are not talking about the understanding at the level of the philosophers, but a very basic level of understanding.

#2: Certainty or yaakin اليقين and its opposite is Doubt

We are speaking about the meaning of the shahaadah itself, your understanding of the shahaadah should be free of any doubt. Allah swt says, the true beleivers are one who believe in Allah and do not doubt ... such are the sincere.

Prophet also said, No one meets Allah with testimony and does not have doubt..... then he will enter Jannah.

Prophet said, whoever makes shahaadah and if he is certain about it, then give him the glad tidings of Jannah.

Having doubt in the meaning of la ilaaha illa Allah, is tantamount to kufr. Allah swt describes the disbelievers that they have doubt in Allah swt. ... they say that we are in clear doubt about what you call to us. And then Allah swt records the response of the messengers, Is there any doubt in the creator of the heaven and the earth.

Allah swt uses the word, is there any doubt about Allah and not the word Rabb..... Arabic Mufassireen say it has the following implications, is there any doubt that there is any other creator .....

As Shakk wa Shubahaat

When Shaytan comes to somebody, he comes with doubt and things that make doubt. If it enters into your heart, then it weakens your imaan, and it can also weaken their certainty.

Many people try to create doubt about the authenticity of the hadith, then when you approach the hadith with doubt, you will not have the desire to follow it properly. Even if you dont express it, but in your heart, you might not give the proper weight to the hadeeth.

Some people who had doubts about the hadeeth, and when they understood how the hadeeth have been preserved, they said that that realization stregnthened their imaan and helped them understand their deen properly. Since their doubts were removed from their hearts, their imaan was strengthened.

Ayah from the Qur’an:

Sahih International

And among people and moving creatures and grazing livestock are various colors similarly. Only those fear Allah , from among His servants, who have knowledge. Indeed, Allah is Exalted in Might and Forgiving.

There is a big difference between some questions occuring to you and doubt. Doubt is a permanent state of the heart, since it is an attitude of your heart. Questions can come up about some aspects of the deen, but not about the shahaadah. But even those types of questions can be answered by knowledge.

#3: Acceptance or qabool القبول and its opposite is Rejection

You must accept whatever the shahaadah implies. You cannot accept the shahaadah and reject the ramifications. There are many reasons why someone might reject the implications of shahaadah due to pride and kibr.

Allah swt says, when you remind them, they become arrogant and haughty.

A lot of secularists and philosophers do not reject the idea of god, but they reject the idea of submission to Allah. You do not have the right to choose what you can believe and what you reject.

Allah swt says, do you beleieve in part of the book and reject part of it, what is the reward for them, except misery in this life and in the hereafter consignment to the hellfire????

Sahih International

Then, you are those [same ones who are] killing one another and evicting a party of your people from their homes, cooperating against them in sin and aggression. And if they come to you as captives, you ransom them, although their eviction was forbidden to you. So do you believe in part of the Scripture and disbelieve in part? Then what is the recompense for those who do that among you except disgrace in worldly life; and on the Day of Resurrection they will be sent back to the severest of punishment. And Allah is not unaware of what you do.

#4: Submission or Al-Inqiyaad الانقياد and its opposite is Failing to comply الترك

If you don’t submit then you are leaving it. Allah swt says.... who is better than the one who submits and …

Sahih International

And who is better in religion than one who submits himself to Allah while being a doer of good and follows the religion of Abraham, inclining toward truth? And Allah took Abraham as an intimate friend.

Sahih International

But no, by your Lord, they will not [truly] believe until they make you, [O Muhammad], judge concerning that over which they dispute among themselves and then find within themselves no discomfort from what you have judged and submit in [full, willing] submission.

You have to accept the shahaadah and submit to it. You are accepting the idea of submitting to Allah swt. It does not mean that the submission has to be perfect, and the reason why we say it is because we have evidence for it, so you can stumble and commit sins, but still remain in the fold of Islam. But if you reject the shahaadah, then you are outside the fold of Islam.

#5: Sincerity or Sidq الصدق and its opposite is Lying

This has to be a true testimony. When you say it you must be truthful.

Prophet (SAWS) says that no one makes a shahadah with sidq except Allah prohibited his skin from Jahannam?

Allah swt in Surah Baqarah verses 8-10 gives us the example of the opposite of sincerity. ..... they are deceiving Allah swt and in their heart is a disease and Allah swt will misguide them.

Basically they are hypocrites, they are making a statement by their tongues but they are not sincere, in fact they are deceiving themselves.

#6: Purity (in sense of devotion to Allah swt alone) or Al Ikhlaas الاخلاص and its opposite is Shirk (associating partners with Allah)

You make the shahaadah solely and sincerely for ALlah swt, it is not because of any other factors such as your family or you are planning to get married.

Allah swt says....

We are saying the shahaadah for the sake of Allah swt and not for any other reason.